Yes
39% (269)

No
61% (418)

687 total votes.

LOS ANGELES  Jessica or Phillip? Phillip or Jessica?

In the end, the 2012 season of “American Idol” came down to a choice between the precociously talented Jessica Sanchez, the 16-year-old pride of Chula Vista, and rural Georgia crooner Phillip Phillips, a Dave Matthews sound-alike whose winning smile and personality made him a heavy favorite for victory.

With viewers casting a record 132 million votes, 10 million more than for last season’s “Idol” finale, that winning smile and “aw shucks” demeanor paid off big for Phillips, 21, on Wednesday night. He was named this year’s “American Idol” during a two-hour telecast at the Nokia Theater. Sanchez came in second, despite being -- as Philips acknowledged -- the superior vocal talent.

“I have no shame in saying I’m not a great singer,” Philips said backstage after the show. “Did I think I was going to win? Heck no! Did you see Jessica’s performance (tonight)? … Jessica’s got a huge future ahead of her.”

She, in turn, praised Phillips, saying of his victory: “He deserved it. He's been having to keep up with his health issues and his kidneys. He's been through a lot more than all of us. He has worked harder than all of us. ”

Phillips, who said he will have kidney surgery before the "Idol" concert tour kicks off in July, wasn’t the only one to praise Jessica. “Idol” judge Steven Tyler predicted that the start of a long career for her is only one hit record away.

“She sings so beautiful,” Tyler said. “If the right person writes her just the right song, she’ll be on the way to forever.”

Drummer Joey Kramer, who performed with Tyler and the rest of Aerosmith near the show’s conclusion, agreed. “It doesn’t matter that she didn’t win (first place),” Kramer said of Jessica. “She won anyway.”

The victory by the heavily favored Phillips’ did not come as a surprise.

No female contestant has won “Idol” since the 2007 triumph by Jordin Sparks, who performed on Wednesday’s telecast. Phillips became the fifth consecutive guitar-strumming, male Caucasian singer to win “Idol.” This distinction has led some veteran observers to declare that “Idol” has become the domain of WGWG (short for “White Guys With Guitars”).

“I think what it came down to is Phillip had that (Southern voting) base and that young girl base. That’s hitting the button a lot of times,” said “Idol” music coach and record industry honcho Jimmy Iovine, who has produced landmark albums for Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and other rock icons.

Yet, even by placing second, Jessica made history.

She is the youngest Top Two “idol” finalist in the show’s history, the first of joint Filipino-American and Mexican-American heritage, and the first to advance to the finale after being voted off the show by viewers and then being “saved” by the judges.

County Supervisor Greg Cox, who represents Chula Vista and South County, was quick to credit Sanchez for helping put her hometown on the international map. “Like all of her fans, I’m disappointed because I thought Jessica was by far the best singer on the show this season," Cox said by e-mail Wednesday. "But I’m very proud of her. She’s done such a great job representing Chula Vista and all of San Diego. To us, she will always be our American idol!”

Jessica provided the musical high-points on Wednesday’s two-hour show. She earned a standing ovation for her soul-stirring reprise of the Whitney Houston hit “I Will Always Love You,” then brought the 7,000-strong crowd to its feet again when she went head to head with Tony Award-winning Broadway star Jennifer Holliday. She matched Holliday, 51, almost note for roof-raising note when the two teamed for a duet on “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” the signature song from the musical “Dreamgirls.” In Jessica’s case, the song’s title seems prophetic.

"I thought she sang the crap out of that song," an admiring Phillips said afterwards. He cited Jessica's performance as the highlight of the star-studded show, which featured performances by Aerosmith, Reba McIntire, Chaka Khan, Neil Diamond, Creedence Clearwater Revival mastermind John Fogerty, Rihanna, "Idol" judge Jennifer Lopez (whose singing may, or may not, have actually been live) and this season's five female and five male "Idol" runner-ups.

"That was insane! I’ve been a fan of hers since I was 7 years old," Jessica said of Holliday. On stage, Holliday cut Jessica no slack, treating her as an equal and not holding back in unleashing her mighty voice. She was clearly delighted at how the 16-year-old rose to the occasion with such skill and aplomb.

Speaking to reporters after the telecast, Jessica vowed that her future musical projects would be designed so that "I get to put myself into my music." That may have been her polite way of noting that "Idol's" producers seemed repeatedly stymied when it came to putting her in musical settings that could best showcase her singing prowess.

"I want to (do) more like a Rihanna dance thing, but I don't want to compare myself to anybody -- more like the urban (music) thing, not straight pop," Jessica said.

To these ears, Jessica is already a superior singer, with a voice that can (and should) stretch well beyond dance-pop. Rihanna demonstrated far more swagger during her heavily produced "Idol" performance Wednesday, despite -- or perhaps because -- she focused far more on her dance moves than on her heavily processed (and at least partly pre-recorded) singing.

Given time to mature and evolve, and to get her feet back on the ground after the dizzying"Idol" whirlwind subsides, Jessica has the potential to sing almost anything she sets her mind to do, be it dance-pop, blues, gospel, Broadway show tunes, funk or vintage (and neo) torch ballads. The prospects, like Jessica herself, seem almost limitless.